Building construction



Jan. 4, 1927.

J. c. TELFORD BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 13. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Jan. 4, 1927.l

J. C. TELFORD BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 13, 19265 |IIIIIT,

` fnl/'6111011 I .J 25M llatented Jan.l 4, 17921. i

f come enanas TELronn, or sroumnrnen, ENGLAND. J

BUILDING ooNs'rnUcrIoN.

aippneauoa mea January is, ieee, serial No. siosaanam Great amm neeembera, ieee This invention relates to a new or v1mprovedmethod of andtmeansafor house and A'other building construction, and refersparticularl toa constructionl in which metal,

` e prefere ly steel, is employedl as a building material.

The object of my invention is .to provide an improved method of metalbuilding constructionwhereby an. ordinary dwelling cheaply erected' onany desired site from standard parts, .every -step in theerection ,fromloundationato roof avoiding so far as possible brick-laying, Plastering,or carla pentering. f

A further object of my invention 1s -to provide a method of buildingconstruction' in which the use of uprights or-stanchions to take the,weight of the structure and prothe walls is rendered superfluous,these'func- 25 can be readily turned out in large quantities,

`tions being`- performed b the. flanges of the panels of which the wa isbuilt up.' The iiznlividualv units or parts of the building and whendelivered on the site may b assembled and the building erected in *veryJ muchless time than hitherto and probably with a reduction in thecapital cost of a an house lor other building.

Accorg to my invention, the walls of a house or other buildin areformedfromy metal plates of storey he1ght,danged on all edges which areassembled without upright-s adjacent plates directly abuttingandinwardly directed, and the plates are secured together by bolts'r thelike passing throu h the danges. The l'bottom ianges of t eva@ lowermostrow of plates are preferablyV I bolted directly to a concreteor -otherfoundation and the w 11s are carried to the de- @ifea height by eachother in vertical alignment. The roof 1w is preferably formed of similarplates,` red- 520 bolted to the l. carry lead or other caulking; beingplaced bjetween' the ilanges of adjacent plates, and the ridge of theroof is formed by-curved or, other f y be bolted to'theuppei; plates ofthe walls.

ns and with the vertical flanges of' his may conveniently- Alo housef orlike building can be rapidly andv @il vide the necessary ,stiffness andrigidity forx perimposing plates` upon'A rfri-is PATENT- oFFlcE.

Bythewise of these Banged -plates the necessary stiffness and rigidityfor the walls and roofl is in the plates themselves, .and verticalgirders or other struts or columns. are unnecessary. This featurehas-the further advantage that interior or partition 'amare -walls canbe placed in any desired position,

so'that a house of standard external dimen i sions can be divided up asdesired by the prospective purchaser or tenant. The steel plates formingthe walls are'standardizd,

and for a bungalow or cottage veach plate extends for the full height ofthe Walls,

the` width of the plates being One`third to `one haltl of their height.

In a house of two vstoreys the walls are formed of two rows ofsuperimposed plates which may be bolted directly together, or

slightly beyond the plane o the main plates to Aform av unionv orezgansion member be? the wall.

The lining of he tending is preferably in sheets or panels of asbestosor the .like` also of standardized dimensions, so that it can besupplied,l from the worksreadytoA assemble.

r .A complete house couldthus be supplied to a site 'and verected in .afew da s with a minimum amount of labour.` pletedthe walls and roof ofthehouse may be ainted externally as desired, and the a shorter platemay b`e interposed projecting en (50111-u roo may, if desired, becovered with tiles 'or any other vsuitable. covering material thoughthis is unnecessary exce t from the point fof view of appearance. heinternal and external design and lay-out of the house may vary'withinwide limits according to the desires of `the prospective owner or As anexample vof our improved-,construe tion a pairv og' semi-detached'two-storey inyention have been illustrated inthe accom panying drawingsinvwhich igure 1 is aperspective xview-efe. part ofi one of thesteelmain building units.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the pair gf houses. l Figure 3 is avertical section through one wall and the roof of one house.

houses constructed-.in accordance with my A plates which formk the' 7 Iline 6--6 of Figure 5.

building in accordance with my'invention l @flanges 2 being slit ifdesired, though this zo siderable thickness.-

Figure ltis aplan ofthe roof for the pair of houses. v .4 y

l Figure 5 is al vertical' section showing the arrangement of the"partition walls and doors. L

-Figure 6 is a horizontal section on the igure 7 a plan on an (enlargedscale showing the arrangement of the main ridge members of the roof. Asshown in Figure `1 the main building unit iI the con truction of a houseor other is a steel plate 1, iianged on all four edges. Theseplates are'conveniently produced by pressing fronrsheet `steel between suitabledies, the metal at the meeting corners-of the A'pared'first, and thisconsists of a concrete Y or other raft or bed 3 of suitable dimensions,

and preferably of greater depth below the outer andparty wallsIof thehouse as shown atV 4. Set'inthe concrete at intervals are 'rag-bolts 5by which the flanges ofthe low ermost row of plates l aresecured to thefoundation and by the use of a template strip or st, ps the position ofthese bolts cank v be accurately fixed.,4 Thegplatesl are then Y.erectedy in position to form thevouter'walls,

'the lower lange'of each being/secured. to `the ioundation by theragbo1ts.'5, lwhile the meeting vertical flanges of Aadjacent platesarebolted together, a coating of'red lead v which projects outwardl beyondthepl'ates or the like' preferably being placed-between to preventcorrosion. To thg upper flanges rof the plates .is secured a horizontalanged or channel member- 6, jas'. shownin Figure 3,

1 andsrves firstly toV orinaplinth course which breaks the severe line,of the lwall, secondi to form a jointing'member capable of .-slig tdistortion to allow -for' vertical expansion. and' contraction olf theWalls under changes Vof temperature, and thirdly t0 receive the ends ofthe joists carrying. the floors for the upper storey;` The next row ofplates forming the-.walls fof the upper storeyr is secured-to the upperange o the member 6, and the roof is sel cured to the u" per edges ofthese plates. 5 The main mem rs? of theroi` consist .of

vwould harbour dust.

a member 7 l' of inverted channel section I" which forms the ridge ofthe rooi and simi- -lar members 8 which form 'the hip rafters.The.junction between themembers7 and 8 is made by castings or pressings9 of 'Y-shape in plan, as shown in Figure 7 to which the members 7 and'8 are secured, and channel section members 10 secured to the corners ofthe walls receivethe outer ends of the members 8. Thestructure so formedcan be placed in positionand'the roof is'completed by anged steel plates11 Asimilar to th'wall plates and bolted to each otherand to the members7 and 8, as shown in Figure 3, as soon as' the outer walls arecompleted, so that the remainder o-the work is carried.

` out under cover and is not-interfered with by weather conditions.Theoors ofthe upper rooms are supported by. joistsv 12 which are carriedacross the full width oi' the building, and their outer ends rest upon`and are carried bythe lower flanges of the joists are preferably of theHitch plate type, that is a steel plate with a wooden beam on each sideconnected by bolts, as this gives -fmembersl 6 as shown Jin Figure 3.'lhese a very strongj oist without excessive weight. v'

The ioring, for the upperV storey'consists of boards 13 /nailed t'o thejoists, while the flooring on the ound floor consists ot boards 14 laidldirectly'o'n the concrete foundation or nailed to battens laid edgewisein the concrete',fthe underside of'the boardsbeing creosoted orotherwise treated against damp The interio rlsurface ofthe outer aridi.

party walls of the house isformed by asbestos or other sheets 15 whichare secured to pieces 17 bolted to lthe flanges oftheplates ,woodenstrips`16 supported by vshort angle 'I 1 as shown in Figure 5. Thesesheets are l preferably of the same dimensions as the plates 1,'(and thevertical junctions between the sheets are covered by wooden fillets 18sothat a .pleasing panelled effect is produced.

Skirtingboards 19 and cornicesl 20 are nailed through the sheetsto thestrlps 16 below, anda woodenmoulding 21 is preferably secured in eachcorner` of a rom' as shown in Figure 6 to eliminate angles which Figure6 also illustrates the method 'of coulpleting the exterior corner ofeach wall by .meansof a flanged member 22- of substantl-- ally quadrantsection which is .bolted to theianes of. the end plates ineach wall. T einterior partition '.wal1sl between rooms'4 may lbe placed in anydesired posi'- tion to suit the purchaser or tenant, and consist-ofasbestosv or other sheeting secured -on opposite sides of wooden" str1's ,24' as Y' shown in Figure 5. A substantie'. y soundproof wall 1sthus produced. Doors Yand windows arehung between posts 25 secured tothe 'flanges of thetplatesl as showngy 1n Figure 6. Other minor detailsof the in terior construction of vthe house need not be entered into asthey will be readily appar# entlto `anyone familar with buildingconstruction. Where a number of houses, of

standard type are under erection as in a town-planning scheme, the pipesfor water, gas, and other fittings may be supplied secured in place uponthe appropriate wall plates so that it is only necessary to connect thesections ofpiping together in vthe course of erection.

` The Wall plates 1 are preferably supplied coated on the inner surfaceWith a suitable bituminous or other paint and after erection the outersurfaces of the Walls and roof are painted or iinished in any desiredmanner. Rust or corrosion can be entirely prevented by painting atregular intervals so that the ldurability of a house constructed inaccordance With my invention shouldbe at least equal to that of a brickhouse, While the maintenance charges will be low.

I claim:

storey and having the walls of each storey formed by a row of metalplatesy ianged on all Ifour sides,v in combination with means forsecuring directly together the vertical ianges of adjacent plates, and ahorizontal channel member connecting they rows of plates between ioorsand forming a plinth course, said member being adapted to be distortedslightly t-o allow' for vertical expansion and contraction of the Wallsunder changes of temperature.

2. A building having more than one storey and having the Walls of eachstorey formed by a roW of metal plates fianged on. al1 four sides incombination with a horizontal channel member connecting two rows ofplates between ioors and joists to carry an upper floor supported bytheir ends which enter said horizontal channel member.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

J OHN CHARLES TELFORD.

